Occupational disease
A disease or condition caused or materially contributed to by exposures arising from work. Each framework maintains a list of reportable occupational diseases, and the lists differ.
Also known as
By jurisdiction
UK HSE
“reportable occupational disease”Exact equivalentRegulation 8 of RIDDOR 2013 requires employers to report diagnosed occupational diseases listed in Schedule 3. Categories include carpal tunnel syndrome (vibration); cramp of hand or forearm (repetitive work); occupational dermatitis; hand-arm vibration syndrome; occupational asthma; tendonitis; and any occupational cancer. The responsible person must report when a doctor confirms the diagnosis.
Irish HSA
“occupational disease”Close equivalentThe Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 (Part 9) and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 require employers to report notifiable occupational diseases. The list of notifiable diseases is set out in regulations and differs from the GB RIDDOR Schedule 3 list.
US OSHA
“occupational illness”Partial equivalentOSHA uses occupational illness as the primary term. Under 29 CFR 1904.5, a work-related illness is recordable if it is a new case and meets the general recording criteria in 29 CFR 1904.7. Occupational illnesses include skin disorders, respiratory conditions, poisonings, hearing loss, and all other illnesses. There is no OSHA equivalent of the RIDDOR scheduled disease list.
Practitioner note: Long latency defeats routine reporting. A diagnosis may arrive years after the exposure and after the worker has left the employer.